Domestic Roundup: NorAms in Winter Park and World Cup stories

Domestic Roundup: NorAms in Winter Park and World Cup stories{mosimage}The ladies got their chance at Nor-Am points as the season opened with two slaloms and two GS’s at Winter Park, Colorado, starting with a slalom on November 30. A handful of Italian World Cup racers spiced the usual field of USA-CAN racers. Canadian Britt Janyk collected the win with Jenni Lathrop just three hundredths back in second. A couple of central Vermont skiers, Jessica Kelly and Lauren Ross, were fifth and sixth. Julia Littman was seventh with a great effort from the 33rd start slot while Natasha Woodworth made 15th from the 53rd start.

In the second slalom, Italian Silke Bachmann got the win over Canada’s Brigitte Acton, and pretty handily with the help of a blazing first run. Acton said, “I was 5th after the first run and I wasn’t happy with how I skied it. I knew I had to push my limits in the second

run because I wanted to podium.” She succeeded. Lauren Ross led the U.S. with a fifth place finish. Kara Crow finished sixth while Kelley and Littman both broke the top 10.

Kelley, in fact, broke into the win column the next afternoon in the first of two Winter Park series GS races. She had a fantastic first run and held off Canadian development team rookie Christina Lustenberger for the win. Croatia’s Ana Jelusic — on the heels of scoring in both World Cup slaloms to date — was third, just ahead of Resi Stiegler. Ross and Kristen Mielke broke into the top 10.

Lustenberger was pleased with her second run, but not her first. “For tomorrow, I need to focus more and keep my concentration, right from the top to the bottom,” she said. She did, matching senior teammate Britt Janyk with the fastest first run in the final GS and topping her six hundredths for her first Nor-Am win. Mielke posted third and Stiegler fourth in front of Italian Magdalena Planatscher. Ross broke into the top 10 for the fourth time in four races.

And in case you didn’t notice…

There were some great results in the World Cup races from lesser-known Americans as well. Here’s a look from the state of Washington and Seattle Times columnist Ron Judd. And, if you’re hankering for a feel of what it’s like to watch a downhill from a critical point high on course, try Nate Peterson’s view from the Beaver Creek Pump-House turn. And, while we’re at it, someone else has noticed the emerging of young U.S. alpine talent. Here’s a nice piece by Amy Shipley of the Washington Post.